Scott R. Galvin / AP

Amish women fill-up the school house to listen to their children sing during the final day of class before the end of the school year on April 9, 2013 in Bergholz, Ohio.

Bergholz, Ohio — The Amish schoolhouse quiets as students in first through eighth grades settle into tight rows of scuffed metal desks to begin singing, their voices rising and dipping like the surrounding hills.

A warm breeze carries the religious lyrics, in German, through the room's open windows and over the fields where their families will mingle after this ceremony marking the school year's end. Typically all this happens in late April, but the festivities have been moved up to allow some youngsters a few more days of family time before their parents head to federal prison.

Come Friday, four women and one man from this tight-knit group in rural eastern Ohio will enter the prison system in various states, joining nine already behind bars on hate crimes convictions for hair- and beard-cutting attacks against fellow Amish.

Scott R. Galvin / AP

Girls play softball during an end of the school year celebration. The celebration was also part of a farewell picnic for those sentenced in the hair and beard cutting scandal earlier in the year.

Scott R. Galvin / AP

Freeman Burkholder crosses home plate during a game of baseball at the farewell picnic. Burkholder was sentenced to prison for his part in the hair and beard cutting scandal.

With that timing, the end-of-school celebration Tuesday served as the last big community gathering before the five depart, and they gave The Associated Press a rare window into their largely insular world. Men played baseball in buttoned shirts, work boots and blue pants with suspenders. Their wives, some barefoot, sat on simple wooden benches and chatted, their long-sleeved, blue and green dresses and white head scarves fluttering in the wind. Their children relaxed nearby, dressed like smaller versions of their parents.

"It's a happy day on the outside, but not on the inside. On the inside, a lot of times we're crying, but we have to keep our spirits up for the children's sake," said Martha Mullet, whose husband, Sam Mullet Sr., was accused of orchestrating the hair-cutting attacks. Read the full story. 

Scott R. Galvin / AP

Boys watch the baseball game.

Scott R. Galvin / AP

Emma Miller holds her daughter during the farewell celebration, which was held for Miller and other community members leaving for prison soon.

Scott R. Galvin / AP

Boys walk to the school house for their final day of class.

Scott R. Galvin / AP

Men sit in the school house to listen to their children sing.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Prisoners in their cell at Badam Bagh, Afghanistan's central women's prison, in Kabul. A total of 202 women are imprisoned in the six-year-old jail, the majority of them in connection to so-called "moral" crimes.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

A prisoner with her child.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Mariam, who shot the man who raped her, has spent the past three months in Badam Bagh prison without any idea of why she was imprisoned, what charges she faces or when she can leave.

Lost and alone in a strange city Mariam called the only person she knew, her husband's cousin. She had left her home in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, fleeing her husband's relentless and increasingly vicious beatings. The man promised to help, but too busy to come himself he sent a friend who took her to a house, held a gun to her head and raped her.

Finished with her he settled in front of a TV set, the gun on a table by his side. Choosing her moment, Mariam picked up the gun, shot her assailant in the head and turned the gun on herself.

"Three days later I woke up in the hospital," she said, shyly removing a scarf from her head to reveal a partially shaved head and a long jagged scar that ran almost the length of her head where the bullet grazed her scalp.

From the hospital Mariam was sent to a police station and from there to Badam Bagh, Afghanistan's central women's prison, where she told her story to The Associated Press. For the past three months Mariam has been waiting to find out what charges she faces.

Mariam is one of 202 women living in the six-year-old jail. The majority are serving sentences of up to seven years for leaving their husbands, refusing to accept a marriage arranged by their parents, or choosing to leave their parents' home with a man of their choice — all so-called "moral" crimes, says the prison's director general Zaref Jan Naebi. Read the full story.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Adia, 27, left her husband, a drug addict, seeking shelter with her parents. They told her to go home to her husband, who had followed her demanding she return. She went to court to seek help but instead they sentenced her to six years in prison. Seven months pregnant, Adia will have her baby in jail.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

A prisoner hanging up laundry on a small patch of open space surrounded by a razor-topped fence.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

A prisoner outside her cell.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Prisoner Nuria with her infant son. "When I went to court for the divorce, instead of giving me a divorce, they charged me with running away," Nuria said. The man she wanted to marry was also charged and is now serving time in Afghanistan's notorious Pul-e-Charkhi prison.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Children walking through the prison. 62 children live with their imprisoned mothers in the jail.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Fauzia is the oldest woman in the jail and has already served seven years. She will serve a 17 year sentence for killing her husband and her daughter-in-law. "I was in one room. I came into the next room and they were there having sexual relations. I found a big knife and killed them both," she said in a voice empty of emotion.

Editor's note: Pictures taken on March 28, 2013 and made available to NBC News today.

Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads

Rahmat Gul / AP

More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

Launch slideshow

Related:

Newlywed Afghan beheaded for her refusal to become prostitute

Afghanistan's female powerhouses: a rapper, a colonel and 'mother' to hundreds

Afghan artists use graffiti to depict violence and injustice of women's lives

Lm Otero / AP

The family of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, comfort each other during their funeral services at the First Baptist Church of Wortham on April 5, in Wortham, Texas.

Lm Otero / AP

Pallbearers carry the remains of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, out of the First Baptist Church of Wortham after their funeral services on April 5, in Wortham, Texas.

Lm Otero / AP

Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks on as a flag is folded to present to the family of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia after a memorial services in Mesquite, Texas on April 4.

LM Otero / AP

Wyvonne McLelland, mother of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland receives a flag from Nathan Foreman, during the grave side funeral services for the couple in Wortham, Texas, April 5.

A slain Texas prosecutor and his wife were laid to rest today in the small town where he grew up, as the hunt for answers to his death continues.

The Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found shot to death Saturday in their house near Forney, Texas about 20 miles east of Dallas.  No arrests have been made.

Related links:

• 'Why Kaufman county?' Locals wonder about DA murder
• Second Texas man charged with making 'terroristic threat' after DA's killing

Manish Swarup / AP

The mother of Ram Singh, the man accused of driving the bus on which a 23-year-old student was gang raped in December 2012, cries as she speaks to journalists inside the family's home in New Delhi on March 11.

Reuters reports: The alleged ringleader in the gang-rape and death of a young Indian woman in December hanged himself in jail on Monday, officials said, a dramatic twist in a case that has provoked outrage across India.

Ram Singh's lawyer said his client had been composed and calm when he spoke to him on Friday and that there were other inmates in his cell in New Delhi's Tihar jail, raising questions about whether it was a suicide and how it could have gone unnoticed by staff in India's highest security prison. Read full story.

Saurabh Das / AP

An Indian police officer prepares to close one of the gates at Tihar Jail, the largest complex of prisons in South Asia, in New Delhi on March 11. Indian police confirmed that Ram Singh, one of the men on trial for his alleged involvement in the gang rape and fatal beating of a woman aboard a New Delhi bus, hanged himself at the jail Monday, but his lawyer and family allege he was killed.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Women in India's 'rape capital' speak out
• Protests turn to mourning for gang-rape victim as India prepares for muted New Year's
• Police try to temper outrage over gang rape

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Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

Oscar Pistorius awaits the start of court proceedings in the Pretoria Magistrates court on Feb. 19, 2013.

By Rohit Kachroo, Michelle Kosinski and Tracy Connor, NBC News

Prosecutors told a court Tuesday that there was nothing to support Oscar Pistorius’ claim that he thought his girlfriend was an intruder when he fatally shot her through a locked bathroom door at his home in South Africa.

A bail hearing, described as a “little trial” by one expert, was being held to determine whether the double-amputee athlete known as "Blade Runner" should be freed pending trial.

At the start of the hearing, Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair asked Pistorius "are you well?" to which the athlete shrugged and said "I guess." His eyes welled with tears. Read the full story.

Related:

'A space missing inside': Family of Pistorius' partner Reeva Steenkamp hold funeral

Daniel Becerril / Reuters

Catholics pray near windows covered partially with cement blocks inside St. Teresa of Avila church in Monterrey, Mexico, on Feb. 17, 2013.

Daniel Becerril / Reuters

A green light indicates there is no danger as a priest distributes Holy Communion to the congregation inside the church.

A church in the Mexican city of Monterrey has set up extreme security measures to protect worshippers, bricking up its windows and introducing a traffic light system to warn churchgoers if a crime is taking place nearby.

During mass, a green light is activated above a side door of the St. Teresa of Avila church to indicate that there is no sign of danger outside.

When the amber light is lit, it indicates caution, while the red light represents danger from criminal activity, such as a shooting, taking place near the church.

A concrete wall has also been constructed in front of the main facade of the church. 

Daniel Becerril / Reuters

A concrete wall has been built in front of St. Teresa of Avila church.

Last week, Mexico's new administration offered the first details of a long-touted shift in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2 billion this year on social programs meant to keep young people from joining criminal organizations in the 251 most violent towns and neighborhoods across the country. 

"It's clear that we must put special emphasis on prevention, because we can't only keep employing more sophisticated weapons, better equipment, more police, a higher presence of the armed forces in the country as the only form of combating organized crime," President Enrique Pena Nieto said.

-- Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

6 arrested in Acapulco tourists' rape

Mexicans weary of drug gangs form vigilante patrols

Slideshow: Mexico's drug war, drug culture

John Gress / Reuters

Ronnie Chambers Jr. looks at his mother Tahitah Myles (obscured) as she collapses during the funeral for his father Ronnie Chambers, 33, a victim of gun violence, in Chicago Feb.4. Shirley Chambers of Chicago had four children - three boys and a girl. Now they're all gone. Her son, Ronnie Chambers, was the last of the single mother's children - all victims of gun violence in Chicago over a period of 18 years.

John Gress / Reuters

Ronnie Chambers Jr. puts his head on the shoulder of his mother Tahitah Myles during the funeral for his father Ronnie Chambers, 33, a victim of gun violence, in Chicago Feb. 4.

By John Gress, Reuters

It’s not every day that an assignment teaches you something about your own childhood.

When I was 7 years old my father, who shared my name, passed away and when I looked down today, I saw a boy, Ronnie Chambers Jr., who is about the same age as I was back then, sitting at my feet with RIP carved in the back of his hair. He was there mourning the loss of his father, who also shared his name.

Ronnie Chambers was shot in the head on January 26. His mother, Shirley Chambers, has lost all four of her children to gun violence.

Seeing Ronnie Jr. today caused me to choke up a little, thinking about the parallels between his life and mine. Seeing him move about the church seemingly unaware of the gravity of the situation, explained to me in that moment why all I can recall about my father's funeral was sitting in my uncle's lap during the service, and a photo of my father in his casket which my mother used to keep in the glove box of her car.

John Gress / Reuters

Shirley Chambers cries during the funeral for her son Ronnie Chambers, 33, a victim of gun violence, in Chicago on Feb. 4. Shirley Chambers of Chicago had four children - three boys and a girl. Now they're all gone. Her son, Ronnie Chambers, was the last of the single mother's children - all victims of gun violence in Chicago over a period of 18 years.

John Gress / Reuters

Tahitah Myles raises her hands as she is comforted during the funeral of Ronnie Chambers, 33, the father of her son and a victim of gun violence, in Chicago Feb 4.

John Gress / Reuters

Shirley Chambers collapses during the funeral for her son Ronnie Chambers, 33, a victim of gun violence, in Chicago Feb. 4.

For me, as significant as that day was, to a child it wasn’t much different than many other church experiences we have while navigating through the adult world. The situation was already emotional for me having met Ms. Chambers last week during an interview. Looking her in the eye and saying my goodbyes, I was left speechless, knowing there was nothing I could do to comfort her in her bereavement, other than a long look of solace and my silence.

Read more posts from Reuters photographers on their blog here.

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Eurokinissi via Reuters; Greek police via Reuters

A policeman escorts suspected bank robber Nikolaos Romanos near the prosecutor's office in Kozani, northern Greece, left. A mug shot released by police, right, shows Romanos, 20, with significantly less bruising.

Reuters reports — A Greek prosecutor ordered an investigation on Monday into whether four suspected bank robbers were beaten in custody, after police published mug shots that were altered to make their injuries appear less severe.

Rights groups and critics have long accused Greek police of detaining immigrants and other prisoners in shocking conditions.

Photos published in the Greek media of the men, who were aged between 20 and 25 and arrested on Friday, showed them bruised and bleeding while being escorted by police.

But mug shots released by the police over the weekend had injuries missing. One had been altered to remove a purple bruise from beneath the suspect's left eye. In another, black bruises below the suspect's eyes and cheeks appear to have been erased.

Eurokinissi via Reuters; Greek police via Reuters

A policeman escorts suspected bank robber Andreas Bourzoukos in Kozani, left, and the mug shot of Bourzoukos distributed by Greek police, right.

Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias acknowledged the photographs had been tampered with, but defended the decision by saying it was to make the four men recognizable to the public.

"Photoshop was used and I - just like you, just like any reasonable person - asked why was this done," Dendias said on Greek television when asked about the press reports.

"Because if they hadn't been Photoshopped, in order to make them resemble an image that the average person would recognize them in, then the photos wouldn't have been published in the first place." Read the full story.

Gergana Kostadinova / EPA

Guards carry the wounded Zlatomir Ivanov after he was shot in front of the City Court in Sofia, Bulgaria on Jan. 29, 2013.

Stoyan Nenov / Reuters

An investigator works at the crime scene where Zlatomir Ivanov was shot in downtown Sofia on Jan. 29, 2013.

An unidentified gunman shot and wounded a suspected Bulgarian crime boss nicknamed "The Beret," the latest blow to the center-right government's efforts to restore the rule of law and improve the Balkan country's image.

Zlatomir Ivanov was shot four times in his legs, arm and stomach as he was about to enter the central court building in broad daylight. He and his bodyguard, who was also wounded, were taken to hospital.

The shots were thought to have come from an apartment across the street from the court building.

-- Reuters, European Pressphoto Agency

Yoan Valat / EPA

Florence Cassez embraces her mother Charlotte Cassez, as French Minister for Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius looks on, upon her arrival in Paris on Jan. 24.

Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP - Getty Images file

French national Florence Cassez listens to her lawyer behind bars on Jan. 22, 2008 in Mexico City. Mexico's Supreme Court ordered yesterday, the immediate release of Cassez serving 60 years in prison for kidnapping, ruling that authorities had violated her legal rights.

Mexico's Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of Florence Cassez, a 38-year-old French woman who had been sentenced to 60 years in jail for kidnapping and other crimes. The court ended the seven-year Mexican prison ordeal by ruling yesterday that there were serious irregularities in the way the case was handled, including a failure to grant Cassez due process.

Reuters reported, Charlotte Cassez, her mother, told French television, "It's an explosion of joy. It's wonderful."

"It's not far from being the best day of my life. We've been waiting for so long," she said after hearing about her daughter's release. "She deserves it. She is innocent and has fought to prove that. It's a victory for her." Continue reading article.

-- Reuters, European Pressphotos Agency